


The Harshest Future We Could Have Imagined

by FlowersAndSkeletons



Category: The Owl House (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Future, Angst, F/F, Five Years Later, Rebellion, Violence, War, split POV, starts after agony of a witch
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-25
Updated: 2021-01-18
Packaged: 2021-03-10 23:08:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 12,950
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28305051
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FlowersAndSkeletons/pseuds/FlowersAndSkeletons
Summary: Five years pass after Luz returns to the human world. With a destroyed portal and no hope of her returning, Amity and the others are forced to focus on their lives in the Boiling Isles; specifically, the blossoming rebellion that Willow and Amity now lead. New allegiances and old resentments come to light and leave the Isles changed beyond recognition. And now, after so long, how will the human fit into this new war-torn wasteland of the fantastical world she used to love?
Relationships: Amity Blight/Luz Noceda
Comments: 15
Kudos: 92





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> The main crew are around 19-20 years old. The first chapter is a bit of a prologue, and the story will really get going in the coming chapters. Enjoy!

“You really have to go?” 

“I do.” 

Luz squeezed Amity’s hands, standing before the portal with her backpack and her cloak. Amity kept her eyes down. She struggled to fight back tears, clutching Luz’s hands like a lifeline. They knew this was going to happen. Both had dreaded it all summer, ever since Luz revealed her exact situation to her friends. Willow and Gus already composed themselves - well, Gus was attempting to - and Eda and King were trying and failing not to cry downstairs. Lilith was somewhere rolling her eyes and hiding her emotions. The twins waited outside to bring Amity home once all their goodbyes were said. 

Amity glanced at the fractured portal. After finding that Emperor Belos had managed to put it back together, yet another espionage mission was mounted to steal it back. Now, Luz could get back, but she only had this one chance. It killed Luz, having to leave but knowing he was still in power. Especially with Eda and Lilith rendered magicless after the failed petrification… nothing was certain now. Nothing but the fact that Luz had to leave.

Reading Amity’s mind, Luz touched her cheek and turned her head away from the portal. “Amity, I’m going to come back,” she said. “I promise I will.”

“How?” 

“I don’t know. I know that I will, though. I got here before, right? I can do it again.”

“When the portal worked. What if we can’t put it back together? What if there’s no way to fix it, w-what if Belos gets it again, what if-”

“Hey, don’t think about that.” Luz pulled her in, wrapping her arms tight around her. Amity buried her face against the crook of Luz’s neck. “I’ll be back. Don’t worry, okay? You’re not going to get rid of me that easily.” 

“Promise?”

“I promise.” She pulled back and pressed their foreheads together. “Don’t go soft on me just yet, Blight.”

Amity giggled through her tears. “In your dreams.” 

“Look after this place for me, okay?”

“I will.”

She cupped the witch’s cheek. “And Ami?”

Amity blushed at the nickname. “Y-Yeah?”

“Don’t forget me.”

“Never.” 

Luz planted a quick kiss on Amity’s cheek and pulled her into a tight hug. Amity held onto her hand as long as she could as she turned to the portal. Hiding her tears, Luz waved and flashed one last bright smile over her shoulder. She disappeared through the wall of light. 

The shaking portal collapsed into a pile of smoldering pieces. Amity collapsed in a heap of silenced sobs. 

****

Amity took a deep breath as she approached the Owl House. Hooty, distracted by a bug, perked up when he spotted her.

“Hoot! Hi, angry green haired friend! What’s that? Cupcakes? I looooove cupcakes! Hoot!”

Amity bared her fangs. “Don’t touch me, bird tube!”

“Alright! Hoot!”

“Sorry. Here, that one’s for you.” Amity tossed the treat in the air and cringed when Hooty swallowed it whole. “Can I come in?”

“Sure, you can! Wait, was the cupcake a bribe?”

“It’s a peace offering.” 

“Okay!”

The door swung open. Eda and Lilith sat at the kitchen table, chatting idly, while King slept curled into a ball on the couch. They paused and looked up when she took a step inside. She swallowed her fear and waved. 

“Hi, Eda. Ms. Clawthorne.” The latter greeting was delivered with just a twinge of venom. After hearing about how Eda was captured, about what happened to Luz, Amity still harbored a touch of resentment, even if everyone else seemed to have forgiven it. “Is it alright if I come in?”

“Sure, kid,” Eda said. Any hatred towards the Blights as a whole had been forgiven in Amity’s case. Amity attributed that to Eda’s constant subtle teasing about how she acted around Luz. Although now it just sounded like pity in her voice. 

Amity stood beside Eda and set a pack of apple blood boxes on the table next to her. 

Eda frowned. “How did you get your hands on this?”

“Emira.”

“She’s one of the twins I almost died with, right? The smart one?”

“Yes.”

“Ah. Well, thanks, kid.”

“You’re welcome. Luz mentioned it.”

Eda nodded and turned aside. Amity swallowed the lump in her throat and stepped over to the couch, kneeling beside King. She gently shook him until he woke with a quiet, “Weh?”

“Hi, King.”

The little demon scowled. “Hello, offering killer.”

“About that.” Amity set the cupcake on the couch in front of him. “I’m sorry.” 

He sat up, inspecting the offering. “What’s wrong with it?”

“What? Nothing. It’s to make up for your cupcake I squished. I’m sorry.” 

King tilted his head. He looked between Amity and the cupcake for a minute before pulling the sweet closer to him. “Offering accepted. I retract any curses I laid on you.” 

“I, uh, thank you?”

“You’re welcome.”

Eda beckoned to Amity as she stood. “C’mere, kid. Come sit. Now, not that I’m complaining, but I have to ask. What’s up with all this.”

Amity took the offered seat and bowed her head. “Luz. She… she wanted me to stick around. She told me to before she left, so I figured it would be good to at least try to make up for what I’ve done. You are her family, after all.”

Eda sighed and rubbed her eyes. “Right. That’s right. Well, look, you don’t have anything to make up for anymore. You and the other two troublemakers are always welcome here. I know Luz will want to see you all when she gets back.”

“Do you think she will come back?”

“Of course. I mean hey, it’s already been what, a month? And we’ve already got all the books possible on fixing the old thing.”

“Four weeks, two days, and five hours,” Lilith interrupted. Amity and Eda stared at her. She cleared her throat. “I’ve been keeping track.” 

Eda smirked and squeezed her sister’s hand. She turned back to Amity, reaching out to touch her shoulder. Amity flinched beneath the gentle pat. Eda paused, just long enough for Amity to relax, and tried again. This time, Amity just sighed as Eda rubbed her back. 

“She’ll come back. It’s Luz, after all. Knowing that kid, she’s already got a new portal halfway finished in the human world.”

“You really think so?”

“Absolutely.”

****

“Absolutely not!”

“But Mom, I-”

“Amity, that is enough!” Odalia Blight slammed her hands down on her desk, looming over her youngest daughter standing across from her. “You are forbidden from returning to that den of criminal activity ever again. Do you understand me? If I ever hear about you so much as heading in that direction again, you will be sorry. Titan, I should have known this would happen after that fiasco at the petrification. That Clawthorne woman never should have been in the Emperor’s coven to begin with, considering her criminal sister.”

“Eda isn’t a criminal! Okay, well, technically, but not for any good reasons! And Lilith isn’t bad either, not anymore. She’s better than she was when you approved of her!”

Odalia scoffed. “Please. I know what is best for you, young lady, and I have made my decision. You are not to return to that place ever again or associate with anyone connected to it, including that half witch and the reporter’s runt.”

“But Luz-”

“Oh, the human! That’s where this began! I should have put a stop to this behavior as soon as Boscha’s parents told me you were hanging around her. This is what is best for you.”

“No it’s not!” Amity hollered. Odalia froze at the outburst. “Luz is my best friend and I’m not going to let you talk about her like she’s nothing! Not her, not Willow, and not Gus! They are better than anyone you ever  _ picked  _ for me and care about me more than you ever did.”

“I want what is best for you!” Odalia protested.  
“You want a perfect daughter as head of the Emperor’s coven,” Amity retorted. “I’m not abandoning them like I already abandoned Willow. And I’m not abandoning the Owl House, either. You can’t make me.”

“You will do what I say! I am your mother!”

“I don’t care!”

Amity regretted the words the moment they left her tongue. 

Odalia froze. Her face went deadly cold, eyes like ice as she leveled a vicious glare at her daughter. Amity shrunk. 

“You don’t care that I’m your mother?”

“I-I… I didn’t mean…”

“Hmph. Fine. Then our name shouldn’t matter to you. If you are going to keep associating with the Clawthornes, you can take their name instead. Anything but Blight.”

“What?”

“Get out of this house, Amity.”

“Mom!”

“Get. Out.” 

Amity took a step back. Tears burned her eyes. She clenched her fists and scowled. 

“Fine.”

She spun on her heel and marched out. Flying to her room, she slammed the door behind her and grabbed a bag. She shoved a few regular outfits inside, along with her books, her school uniform, and her box of keepsakes with her Grom tiara in it. She shouldered the pack and bolted out of the house. 

The twins intercepted her before she reached the door. Their ever present smiles disappeared when they saw her face, streaked with tears.

“Mittens, what’s wrong?” Emira asked. 

“Ask Mom.” Amity shoved past them.

“Wha- Amity, wait, where are you going?”

“The Owl House!” 

The massive doors of Blight Manor slammed shut behind her. 

Casting a light spell, she ran through the Isles all the way to the Owl House. She never stopped or looked back, even as hot tears poured down her cheeks. When she reached her destination, Hooty let her in without so much as a hoot.

Eda gave her just a passing glance as first when she marched in, then whipped her head around when Amity’s appearance registered. Amity stood in the doorway, shaking and panting, clutching her pack to her chest. She scrubbed at her face and scrambled to regain some of her composure. 

“Eda, Lilith, I, um… C-Can I…?”

“Kid, what happened?” Eda asked. 

Amity shook her head. “My mom kicked me out. She told me I had to stop coming here and said I had to do what she said because she’s my mother and I told her I didn’t care so she kicked me out. I just… Can I stay here? Please? I-I don’t have anywhere else to go right now.”

“Of course. Come on, you’ll stay in Luz’s old room. Lilith, help me get her set up.”

That night, Amity cried herself to sleep in a sleeping bag on the floor, clutching her pillow and cursing all the years she spent in that controlling hell already. 

The next day, the twins came by with the rest of her belongings, most of them dirty and broken. 

“She threw them out the window?” she asked when they told her what happened. 

“Well, she had the servants do it for the most part, but yes,” Edric replied. “Look, Amity, if you just apologize-”

“No,” Amity snapped. “I’m not apologizing to her. I’m staying here.”

Emira put a hand on her twin’s shoulder. “Ed, drop it. Look, Mittens, we’re here if you need us, okay? We’ll see you at school.” 

The two hugged their baby sister and waved to Eda and Lilith sitting in the living room. Amity watched them disappear down the trail before shutting the door silently. She leaned her head against the wood for a quick moment before straightening. 

“You okay, kid?” Eda asked. 

“I’m fine.”

The next morning, Amity approached Lilith with a pair of clippers in hand. “Lilith?”

“Yes, Amity?” 

“You do your own hair, right?”

“I dye it on occasion, when the orange roots start to become noticeable.”

“Will you help me cut my hair, please?” 

“Of course.” Lilith closed her book and stood. “How did you want to cut it?”

“Cut off all the green dye.”

“Are you sure? That would make your hair quite short.”

“I’m sure. I just want it gone. I’m not going to let anyone force me to dye my hair again.” 

Lilith frowned. “Your mother-”

“Please help me cut it.”

“Alright. Come here.” 

****

“Okay, these are the outposts we know of so far.”

Gus spread a map over a rickety table. Orbs of light hovered in the tunnel above them, illuminating the little meeting place dug beneath Hexside. Willow and Amity knelt on either side of him and watched as he gestured to little markers on the creased parchment. Emira stood behind Gus, watching over his shoulder with Viney and the rest of the detention kids. 

“Belos has squads of guards here, here, and here, and then multiple roving patrols through the marketplace and around Hexside. As long as we stay in the tunnels for meetings, we should be fine.” 

Amity idly ran her hand over the short sides of her undercut, with the long part on top pulled into her normal short ponytail. With Lilith’s help over two years ago, she cut out all the green dye and never touched it with a drop of pigment afterwards. 

After the meeting, the group said their goodbyes and took off down different tunnels of Gus’s making. Willow and Emira hung around with Amity as she extinguished the light orbs. 

“Has Eda made any progress on the portal?” Willow asked after a moment of silence. 

Amity sighed. “No. Nothing. We haven’t even gotten a flicker from it. I…” She shook her head and extinguished another light, trying not to think about the missing human. “I don’t know what we’re going to do.”

“How long has it been?”

“Too long.” 

Willow nodded and touched Amity’s hand. “They’ll find a way to fix it.”

“I hope.”

Willow took off, leaving Amity alone with her sister. Emira leaned against the wall with her arms crossed. Amity stopped and turned to her sister. 

“Have you heard anything from Edric?” the elder asked. 

“Nothing. Has he been talking to you?”

“Not a word. He hasn’t told Mother and Father, I know that, but he stopped talking to me as soon as he learned about this. He doesn’t even play pranks with me anymore.”

Amity scoffed. “He’s trying to become their favorite child.”

“I think he is, at this point.” 

“Right.” She held a light orb between her hands. “I heard they made Dad the leader of the emperor’s coven.”

“They did. It’s no wonder Edric is trying to get in so badly. I still can’t believe he’s doing all this.”

“Me neither. Look, I have to get back to the Owl House and keep helping Eda with the portal.”

Emira bowed her head with a tight lipped grimace, watching Amity with pity in her eyes. “Mittens, do you really think you’re going to get her back?”

“I know I will!” Amity snapped, but the anger faded quickly. “She promised she would come back.”

“Not all promises can be kept.” 

“I know that, but we’re going to find a way. We have to.” 

“Okay.” Emira hugged her sister and kissed the top of her head, still so much taller than her even after the years that had passed. “You’ll figure this out, Mittens. They can fix it.” 

Amity just nodded and hugged her sister tighter. 

****

Edric stood on the edge of a crumbling roof. Fires raged around him in the burning marketplace, littered with the bodies of fallen Emperor’s coven soldiers and wounded rebellion fighters fleeing the scene. His white cloak was stained red, and his sharp beaked mask hung around his neck. He leaned heavily on his staff.

In the street below, Amity wielded her own staff with its snarling tiger palisman. She growled at her brother while her friends fell into line behind her. Emira stood at her side, watching Edric not with anger, but heartbreak in her eyes. 

“Ed, please!” she called. “This isn’t you!”

“Enough, Emira!” he roared. “I’m done being the stupid twin. Now it’s time for me to do what you and Amity failed to. I’m going to lead the Emperor’s coven after Dad and my career is going to start with ending your stupid rebellion!”

“You know Belos is wrong!” Amity protested. “This isn’t going to end how you want, Edric. Please just come with us.”

“Never!” 

Amity shook the tears from her eyes and cast a spell circle. “Fine.”

A pink flame lit in her hand. Emira grabbed her arm.

“Mittens, no!”

“If he’s not going to join us, he’s against us! Belos is going to fall, Edric. Belos, the coven system, all of it. Including you.”

“Grow up, Amity. It’s time all three of us started acting like Blights. If you two won’t, I will.” Edric lifted his head. “Soldiers, retreat!” 

Amity watched her brother flee with the rest of the soldiers. She gripped her staff and turned to Willow and Gus and the others standing behind her. “Everyone out of here!” she ordered. “Before they send reinforcements back. At least we know our enemy now.”

“Our brother,” Emira said quietly.

“Our  _ enemy _ ,” Amity repeated. “Willow, Gus, let’s go.”

The pair followed Amity back to the Owl House. They walked in silence, all three contemplating the day’s battle and the new development. There were suspicions of Edric’s involvement, but they hadn’t known the extent. And the fact that he was leading a command… 

Amity, although hiding it beneath her rage, wanted to weep and curse at the sky. Her own brother! After all those years of him and Emira goofing off, never conforming to their parents’ expectation, leaving all the vicariously realized dreams to fall upon Amity, she never could have imagined him becoming so fed up with Emira’s jesting that he would turn his back on the both of them. She cursed under her breath thinking about it and forced the thoughts from her head. She couldn’t afford getting stuck in her thoughts now. She had the rebellion to think about, the rebellion that Willow founded and the two of them now led together. The rebellion, keeping the Owl House hidden, fixing the portal… 

Titan, she couldn’t even afford to think about the portal anymore. Four years passed without anything working, and then the rebellion started with Willow’s attempted assassination of Belos a year ago. 

Amity glanced at Willow beside her. A long scar wrapped around her eye from her forehead down to her jaw. She cut her hair short and wild to display it with pride. They all bore scars now, but Willow’s scarred face had become a symbol of the rebellion with her wanted poster plastered all over the Isles. Amity, although a leader herself, didn’t envy the responsibility Willow gained. Her speech all those years ago is what sowed the seeds, after all.

Hooty greeted them when they returned and flung the door open. Amity sighed and rubbed her eyes as they stepped inside, keeping her head down. She hadn’t noticed Willow and Gus stopping in their tracks by the door.

“Eda, Lilith, we found the new commander Belos has,” she said.

“Amity,” Eda said, rising from her seat. “Look up.”

She did. 

Standing across from her was a tall girl with rich dark skin and fluffy brown hair pushed out of her face. Wide, fiery brown eyes locked with her golden stare. She was taller now, finally overtaking Amity, and her weak nerd arms had developed built and defined muscles. Her gently rounded ears were pierced with multiple golden rings. Despite everything, her bright smile was still the same, and it still sent Amity’s heart racing.

Amity sucked in a sharp breath. 

“Luz?”

The girl grinned.

“Hey, Amity.” 


	2. The Littlest Clawthorne

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luz and Amity finally get a short chance for a reunion before the crew shows Luz what happened to the Isles.

Luz tackled Amity in a hug. 

"I missed you guys so much!" she exclaimed, laughing past the tears in her eyes. "I'm so happy I get to see you again!"

Amity hesitated, eyes wide and watery, before finally putting her arms around Luz. The human winced as Amity's nails dug into her back but didn't let go. "Tell me I'm not dreaming," she gasped, clinging to Luz. "Tell me you're here."

"I am here," Luz whispered. "I'm sorry I was gone so long." 

Forcing herself to pull back, Amity beckoned to Willow and Gus. Both grinned and jumped on their friends, locking them in a tight hug. Eda, Lilith, and King followed. Luz laughed under the smothering hugs and held her family tighter. She somehow managed to keep from crying as Amity buried her face against her neck, talons still locked in her back.

"I missed you, Luz," she whispered in her ear.

"I missed you too, Ami." 

They all stayed like that for longer than any could tell, until Eda released them with, "Alright, enough with the parallel arms thing." 

Everyone broke apart laughing. Luz stayed close to Amity, pressing their arms together as Amity wiped at her eyes. Willow shot Luz that old knowing smile over Amity's head. 

Luz grinned at everyone. "Okay, you guys have to tell me everything that's happened while I was gone," she said. Every smile in the room disappeared. She frowned. "Guys?"

Eda sighed. "Come sit down, kid. Amity, Willow, why don't you explain?" 

Luz looked around with a concerned frown as Willow led her to the table. She sat beside Luz while Amity hovered behind them, tying the long part of her undercut into a messy bun. Luz watched her for a moment before Willow tapped the table to get her attention. 

Only then did she notice the scar on Willow’s face. Deep and ragged, it curled down the side of her face, revealed by her much shorter hair. Glancing back at Amity, Luz noticed the scars that littered her pale skin, as well. She noticed the dark shadows and creases beneath everyone’s eyes, their cuts and bruises, the fresh blood and dirt that covered them. They were her age; logically, she knew that, but looking at them now, it seemed that far more years had passed for them than had for her. Even Gus, though still short, had grown into hardened features and haunted eyes. Luz swallowed hard and looked to Willow.

“After you left,” the witch began, “things started to get bad.”

Her voice was somber and hollow. Luz’s stomach dropped.

“Belos started recruiting more members into the Emperor’s coven, powerful magic users  _ and  _ foot soldiers. They stopped allowing study of different tracks and anyone caught practicing outside a coven was arrested. The multi-track at Hexside was outlawed. Using glyphs was grounds for immediate arrest.” 

Luz felt for the pad of paper in her pocket and took a deep breath.

Willow went on. “Remember how Gus was digging tunnels beneath school?”

“It was just supposed to be one at first,” Gus interjected. 

“Well, he finished them. There’s a massive network under there now that we used to meet in to discuss plans, mostly on keeping them away from the Owl House and Eda while they tried to fix the portal. After that speech I made during the petrification, after people found out we stole the portal back, everyone started getting angrier with the entire idea of the coven system.”

“Most people,” Amity said bitterly.

Willow sighed and reached out to squeeze her hand. “Most people. Anyway, once all that started, Belos put us in martial law and put everything under complete jurisdiction of the Emperor’s coven and their leader. Alador Blight.”

“Blight? You mean…?”

“My father.” Amity gripped her staff harshly. “And now my brother.”

“Edric?” 

“What about him, Amity?” Eda asked. 

“He’s Belos’ new commander. We ran into him today at the fight in town. Eda, we’re going to need to set up more security for a while and try to keep him away as long as possible. He knows too much about us.” 

“So, you’re all fighting the Emperor’s coven now?” Luz asked. 

“We are,” said Willow. “Belos, specifically. Eventually he started petrifying people and spouting all that Titan’s will bullshit, so we got angry, and we snuck into his castle a year ago and tried to kill him.”

“You what?”

“Willow did,” Gus said. 

Willow smirked and tapped her scar. “That’s what this is from.”

“You’re kidding,” Luz murmured. “Really, Willow? That doesn’t sound like you at all.”

“Maybe when we were younger, Luz. A lot has changed since you left.”

“I guess so.” Luz rubbed the back of her neck. “What’s going on now?”

“War. Amity and I lead the rebellion. We’re doing our best to just take him down and destroy the coven system. We’re trying but it’s been awful.”

“Once it’s calmed down again, we should bring Luz through the Isles,” Gus suggested. 

“I’m not sure if that is such a good idea,” Lilith said.

Eda shook her head. “No, she should. She’s back with us now and she needs to know what’s been happening.”

“Tomorrow we’ll go on a stealth mission through town so she can see what’s been happening,” Amity decided. She touched Willow’s shoulder. “Does that work?”

“That works.” Willow stood. Luz stood as well, seized by a sudden sense of respect for the newly realized leader in her old friend. “Gus and I have to go. We have to make sure the base is secure before heading home. All our dads are waiting for us.”

“Your dads are part of the rebellion?” Luz asked.

“My dads help with the healers and Gus’ dad circulates our messages and newsletters.”

“Wowza.” 

“I’ll come with you,” Amity said.

“No, Amity, stay here,” Willow ordered gently. “We’ll be fine. We need you here.” 

“Okay.” 

Willow and Gus pulled Luz into a tight hug. “We’ll see you tomorrow, okay? I’m sorry we couldn’t stay long right now. It’s been an awful day.”

“It looks like it,” Luz said. “I’m sorry.”

“Tomorrow we’ll take you through the new Isles,” Gus said. 

“I’ll see you tomorrow. Bye, guys.”

“Bye, Luz.” 

Luz sank back down in her chair as Willow and Gus left, staring at her hands in her lap. “What did I do when I left?” she whispered. 

“It wasn’t you, Luz,” Eda said. “This has been a long time coming. It was just bad timing. Amity, why don’t you and Luz go set up her bed with you upstairs for now?”

“Okay.” 

Amity grabbed Luz’s backpack and nodded to the stairs. Luz caught Amity’s hand, making Amity blush, and followed along beside her. 

Upstairs, Luz’s room - now Amity’s - hadn’t changed much. Eda’s clutter still bordered the room. The old, weathered Azura poster hung in its place on the wall, with the entire series stacked beneath it beside King’s bed. Along with the string lights hung up, multiple glowing orbs hung in the air. Sitting in the corner was a writing pad and pencil with multiple different glyphs scattered around it, including several light glyphs. A little keepsake box with an A on it sat on the windowsill.

Luz stopped in the doorway as Amity nudged her bed to the side. She grabbed another mat and sleeping bag from a chest on the side of the room as Luz looked around. 

“You didn’t change much, did you?” she asked.

“Not really. I was planning on you coming back soon so I didn’t want to move anything, and when you didn’t, well…” Amity shrugged. “It made me think of you. I used to read Azura sitting with King beneath the poster.”

Luz nodded. Forcing a smile, she tried at their old joke. “Did you miss me that much, Blight?”

“Yes, actually.” Amity paused. “And it’s Clawthorne now.”

“What?”

“My name. It’s Amity Clawthorne.” 

“Oh. Since when?”

“Six months after you left, I think? I got into a fight with my mother because she found out I was hanging around the Owl House. She told me she was my mother so I had to listen to her, I told her I didn’t care, and she said fine. Then I must not care that I’m a Blight, either. She threw me out, I came here, and I shaved my head the next day. Eda and Lilith agreed to let me take the Clawthorne name a little after, and that was that. I was going to look for a bird palisman too, like them, but Raja came along and changed my mind."

“Oh, geez, Amity, I’m sorry.” 

“It’s fine. Honestly, I ended up better than I ever would have been if I stayed in the manor. Better than what happened with Edric, anyway.” 

A hush fell over the room. Luz sighed and took Amity’s hand. Amity glanced at her. 

“I’m sorry it took me so long to get back here,” she murmured. “Believe it or not, the human world doesn’t have many how-to books on fixing portals.”

Amity laughed sadly. “Well, we weren’t exactly quick on our side, either. I’m just glad you’re back now.”

“Me, too.” 

King scurried into the room. “Luz! Amity! I demand cuddles!”

Amity laughed and sat on her bed. King jumped into her lap, curling up as she scratched his back. Chuckling to herself, Luz sat with Amity and patted King’s head. King closed his eyes and snuggled into them.

“You two get along now?” Luz asked.

“She gave me a cupcake!” King chirped. 

Luz raised an eyebrow. 

“I came by with peace offerings a few weeks after you left,” Amity explained. “I wanted to make up for being an asshole before we became friends.” 

“I’m glad you get along with everyone now.”

“It was touch and go for a little bit, but we got there. Eda really trusts me now, especially after everything started getting bad.”

“That’s good! I still remember the whole burning memory thing.”

Amity groaned, grinning as she went red and shook her head. “Titan, Eda did  _ not  _ like me back then. I was such an idiot when we were younger.” 

“Only a little.” 

The conversation drifted off. They smiled at each other, King sleeping between them, quiet in the fading light coming in through the window. 

Luz cleared her throat. “I really like your hair, by the way.”

Amity blushed and touched the shaved part of her hair. “Really?”

“Yeah. The brown looks nice. And you look, I don’t know, happier, now, even with everything you’ve told me about.”

Amity pulled her knees to her chest. “A little. It’s mostly because you’re back.” 

Without warning, Amity jumped into Luz’s arms, scaring King off her lap. Luz stuck one arm back to keep them both upright. She wrapped the other around Amity’s waist as the witch hid her face against Luz’s shoulder. Luz nuzzled against Amity, smiling as her pointed ear flicked and turned backwards, holding her tight. Amity let go of a long breath and relaxed in Luz’s embrace.

“I missed you so much,” she said. Hot tears dripped onto Luz’s shoulder. “I didn’t know if you were ever going to come back. So many years went by and we weren’t able to do anything and I didn’t think we would ever be able to fix it.”

“I know. I was scared, too.” Luz sighed and adjusted to put both her arms around Amity. She shot King a look. He nodded, taking the hint and bolting downstairs. “I only thought about you and the others when I was in the human world. God, Amity, my mom was so mad at me.”

“She thought you were at a camp, right?”

“Yeah. And when I finally told her where I really was, she thought I was crazy. She tried to send me to another camp.” Luz shuddered, thinking of the therapist’s office and all the brochures that woman showed Camila. “Well, not really a camp, but, something like it. She thought it was going to help me. I got out of it though, after a lot of talks and convincing. I’m still not sure she totally believes me, but I think she just finally, I don’t know, accepted it, I guess? I think she thought that most of my pictures were photoshopped, too.”

“Photoshopped?”

“It’s a way to edit pictures in the human world. Anyway, I showed her pictures of you and everyone else and all the weird things on the Isles, and I don’t know if she gave up or actually believed me, but she stopped trying to fix me. I think she was just glad I finally started acting normal in public, Isles aside.”

Amity pulled back, still leaning on Luz and only inches away from her face. “You told me you hated how everyone acted in the human world.” 

“I did. I do. But I knew that if I started acting the way she wanted me to, I could focus on finding a way to get back to you.” Luz turned aside and cleared her throat. “Um, all of you, I mean. Get back to all of you and get back to the Isles.” 

“Right.” 

Amity glanced down and went red in the face. Pursing her lips, she sat back away from Luz. The human smiled sadly and pulled one knee up to her chest. 

“So,” she said, “how is it being a Clawthorne?”

“It’s… fine. Eda and Lilith care about me, at least.”

“Are they still getting along?”

“They are, which is more than I can say for my own siblings.”

“Is Emira part of the rebellion?” 

“She is. She usually fights with my squad, but sometimes she gets put with the old detention kids.” 

“Viney, Jerbo, and Barcus?”

“Mmhm.”

“What about everyone else from school?”

“I haven’t heard anything from Skara and her friends. That little jerk from the construction track joined the Emperor’s coven, and we’ve seen him a few times on patrol, but not much. Last I heard of Boscha, she just stayed away from everything.”

“Huh. Knowing her, I would’ve expected her to join the coven.”

“She almost did. She got sick of the idea of being told what to do and dropped off the map. No one has seen her since then.” 

Luz nodded. She looked outside at the purple sky, watching the stars light up like the light orbs glowing in the room above them. 

“So much has changed since I left.”

Amity sighed. “It’s been hard. I won’t lie. But, we’re trying.”

“I’m glad I’m here to help now.”

“So am I.” Climbing to her feet, Amity dragged a hand down her face. “I’m going to go take a shower. You should get some sleep. It’s going to be a long day tomorrow sneaking through the Isles.” 

Luz laid out her sleeping bag beside Amity’s and stretched out. Staring out the window, she took a deep breath and fished out her paper and pencil. She drew a light glyph and sent it into the air besides Amity’s pink-tinged lights. She sighed and allowed herself a tiny smile, the lights dancing in her eyes. Some things didn’t change.

Amity turned after a while, dressed in torn pajamas with her hair down. Luz turned over to look at her and froze. Her heart jumped into her throat. Amity was always pretty to her when they were younger, but now it suddenly hit her how beautiful she really was. She flashed Luz a little smile and lied down beside her. 

They faced each other, barely a foot apart. Luz held out a hand that Amity took. With hands clasped between them, they closed their eyes, finally at peace with the other beside them again.

****

Luz crouched behind Willow. Hexside stood before them, reduced from its former glory to a smoldering, pitted, burnt out husk. A picture of Belos’s mask with a red X through it was graffitied across the mighty tower in front. All the trees surrounding the campus were cut or burned down, leaving only stumps behind. The top of the tower and the eye inside were blasted away. Her heart sank at the sight. She clutched Willow’s hand, unable to look away from the ruined school. 

Willow lowered her head a touch. “That’s Hexside,” she said quietly. “When they found out we were meeting in the tunnels and using Viney’s passages, they sent in squads and destroyed the place. They wouldn’t let anyone fix it, either, even to continue using it as a school.” 

Luz grimaced. “Do I even want to see Bonesborough after this?” 

“Probably not, but you should.”

Willow ushered her along. 

The town looked no better. Little fires burned everywhere. Most buildings were scorched in places or had holes busted through the walls. Doors were torn off their hinges and windows were cracked and shattered. The normally busy town was deserted by its citizens, replaced by white robed soldiers and little flying creatures. The soldiers shouted at anyone wandering the streets. Some were forced back into buildings. Others were clubbed and forced into chains before being carted away. 

Propagandic pictures of Belos’ proud visage were plastered everywhere, alongside wanted posters of Willow and Amity’s dangerous caricatures. Luz was reminded of Eda’s old posters displayed everywhere. 

Hiding on a hill overlooking the town, the crew watched as a new patrol squad marched through the streets. Their leader stepped out in front of his soldiers and took off his mask. 


	3. Friction

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While Amity and Emira discuss the emerging problem with their brother, Luz grows frustrated with current decisions.

Amity lurched forward, golden eyes blazing with hatred, but Willow clapped a hand over her mouth and yanked her back. 

Edric called orders to his squad as they marched around. Behind him, a young witch stepped out of their house. One of the soldiers grabbed them by the collar and clubbed them over the head with a vicious order to stay inside, before tossing them back and slamming the door in their face. Edric ignored the violence happening behind him. 

Keeping her hand over Amity’s mouth, Willow pushed her back into Luz and held a finger to her lips. “Not now,” she hissed. “We need reinforcements. We’ll have another chance to get him.”

Amity shoved Willow’s hand away. “He’s right there!”

“Amity, we’ll get another chance. Stand down.”

Gus popped up between them. “Guys, we should go. We can’t have Belos finding out that Luz is back yet or he’ll go straight after the portal.”

Willow shot Amity a look. Some of the fight faded from the witch’s fiery golden glare. 

“Gus is right,” she sighed. Still glaring down at Edric, she grabbed Luz’s arm. “Come on. We should go to the base and let them know where he is.”

Willow nudged her as they snuck away in the opposite direction. “You should talk to your sister.”

“I’m going to.”

They reached the base through a tunnel right where the snow began to stick at the Knee. The steep ramp down led deep underground, lit by torches that licked at the low ceiling. Luz looked around in awe like her first few days on the Isles, only now there was a foreboding sense of danger pressing down on the world around her. As they sank further underground, she shook off a chill that settled on her shoulders, one she wasn’t sure was just from the cold. 

Amity walked beside Luz. Their hands brushed together. Luz forgot where they were for a moment and smiled at Amity. The witch returned the smile, slipping her hand into Luz’s and giving it a quick squeeze, but the look disappeared in a moment. Luz watched sadly as frigid rage snuck into Amity’s eyes. 

They reached a metal door at the very bottom of the tunnel. Willow knocked three times. 

“Password,” a familiar voice barked on the other side of the door. 

Luz frowned. “Is that…?”

Amity pulled her back and held a finger to her lips.

“Wild,” Willow replied. 

“Members?”

“Thorn, Tiger, and Clone.” She glanced over her shoulder at Luz. “And a guest.” 

“A guest?”

“Friendly.”

The door swung open. A short girl with a spiky hair tie stared at them with wide eyes. She still wore the same fishhook in her ear. Her mouth hung open for a moment before she found her words again. 

“Titan,” she gasped. “Luz?”

“Hey, Viney.”

“I, you, y-you’re back! How?”

“Long story,” Amity said. “Let’s talk about it inside. Where’s Emira?” 

Viney stepped aside to let them through the door, closing and locking it behind them. “She’s with the boys in Barcus’ shed. They’re reading futures trying to find anything we need to worry about.” She paused. “Amity, I heard. I’m sorry.”

“Thank you.” With that, Amity swept past her and marched into the base, disappearing into the haphazard maze of buildings that occupied the large underground cavern. Luz tried to follow, but Viney caught her in a hug. 

“It’s good to see you again, troublemaker,” she said.

Luz laughed and returned the hug. “Good to see you, too. Where’s Puddles?”

“Out patrolling. She keeps Belos’ soldiers away from the entrance to this place so there’s no chance of them finding it.”

“Speaking of Belos,” Willow said. “We need to meet with everyone to discuss the new developments with Edric. We’re going to show Luz around the base and then I want a briefing set up in ten minutes.”

Viney nodded. “Got it, Commander.”

Willow waved to Luz as Viney rushed off. “Come on.”

Luz raised an eyebrow at Willow’s back. “Commander?”

“Amity and Willow are both technically commanders of the rebellion,” Gus explained quietly. “People usually call them that when we’re discussing matters related to the war.” 

“Should I be calling them that?”

“No, you’re going to be part of our squad. We don’t address them like that, but you do have to listen to them.”

“After what I’m seeing, I guess I better. I don’t remember them being so… scary.”

“We’ve all had to grow up fast since you left.” 

“Yeah, I guess so.” 

“Luz, come here,” Willow said. Luz fell into step with her. “I want to give you a quick tour of the place. See that little building over there? That’s the healer’s building. Viney is usually in there when she’s not on guard duty. That building over there is the armory.”

“Armory?”

“We can’t always rely on magic. Those buildings are our barracks. A lot of people’s homes have been destroyed, so if they join the rebellion and have nowhere else to go, they come here.”

“Wow.”

“Yeah. Gus mostly manages those.” 

“When I’m not helping my dad with the newsletters,” Gus chimed in. 

“Right.” 

As Willow went on, a growing weight of dread settled over Luz. She touched her glyph pad in her pocket, rolling her pencil between her fingers. What kind of world did she leave behind?

****

Meanwhile, across the base, Amity found Emira sitting in the corner of Barcus’ shed, while Barcus gazed into a crystal ball and Jerbo summoned little abominations to run around the room. Emira squashed one beneath her foot just as Amity walked in. Jerbo shot her a look and immediately resurrected the little purple creature, but kept it away from her threatening shoes. 

Emira looked up at Amity. “Mittens!”

“Can I talk to you outside?” she asked.

The elder sister frowned. “Alright.”

She followed Amity outside. Amity stepped over to the wall of the cavern and sat on a rock, pinching the bridge of her nose. Emira crossed her arms and waited. 

“We saw Edric again,” Amity finally said. 

Emira clenched her jaw. “And?”

“He was leading a patrol squad through Bonesborough. One of his soldiers clubbed some kid over the head and he didn’t even bat an eye.” 

“I don’t…” Emira bit her lip and turned away. “I don’t understand why he would do this. I know that he never liked the idea of the rebellion, but I didn’t think he would ever go this far.” 

“You heard what he said about being the stupid twin. He’s doing this to get back at us.” 

“We teased him! He and I did way worse to you, to the point where it wasn’t even funny looking back, and you didn’t do anything like this!” 

“He hated the idea of the rebellion in the first place. And it doesn’t matter why he’s doing it, it just matters that he  _ is. _ Emira, L-” Amity stopped herself. She got close to Emira and lowered her voice to a hiss. “Luz is back.”

“What? When?”

“Yesterday when I got back to the Owl House she was there. If Belos finds out that she’s back, he’s going to destroy the Owl House  _ and  _ her trying to get the portal back. He got so close to his day of unity before she left and if we let him get his hands on the portal again, he’s going to win. With Edric running around, it’s going to be a lot harder to keep her out of sight.”

“You expect Luz to stay out of sight?”

“Okay, I don’t actually know what Willow wants to do with her, but I know that we can’t let Edric near her. You know he’ll be sent after her if Belos finds out.”

Emira sighed. “I know.” She wrapped her arms around herself. “I don’t know if I can fight him, Amity.”

Amity looked down. “Willow’s not going to ask you to.” 

“What about you, Commander?”

“You know you don’t have to call me that.”

“I do when we’re talking about things like this.” 

The younger witch rubbed her eyes. “I don’t know. I wouldn’t send you after him.” 

“What about you?”

“I don’t know.”

“Mittens, you can’t hurt him.”

“He’s hurting other people! What do you expect me to do, give him a free pass because he’s my brother? Emira, it’s the same thing that happened with the Clawthornes. We’re Eda now. He’s Lilith. Blood doesn’t change the fact that he is on Belos’ team now.”

“Lilith turned good.”

“Lilith  _ was  _ good. She tried to get Eda healed, she wasn’t leading soldiers around beating people and petrifying them for nothing! Most importantly, she left when she found out exactly how horrible he is! Edric already knows!”

“Right, of course, and the Clawthornes can do no wrong in your eyes but our brother doesn’t even get  _ considered  _ to be helped and given a second chance!”

Amity bristled. “What is that supposed to mean?”

Emira cringed. “Nothing. I’m sorry, that was out of line, I didn’t mean to say that.”

“I don’t care if you meant to, you said it. What did you mean by that?”

“Mittens-”

“Emira!”

“I just wish I could still hear Blight and have happy thoughts of you guys, okay?! I wish my family didn’t fall apart! If not Mother and Father then at least you two, but no! Now my twin is part of the Emperor’s coven trying to kill us, and my sister is a Clawthorne that wants to kill him!”

The two sisters stared at each other in shocked silence after Emira’s outburst. Emira, with her face burning red and tears in her eyes, scrunched her nose and turned aside. Amity huffed and fixed her hair. She crossed her arms on her chest and faced her sister. 

“I want to give Edric a second chance,” she finally said, “but I can’t. The lines are drawn. People know what Belos is doing. Anyone who joins him now is doing it with full awareness of the gravity of that decision. I can’t…  _ we  _ can’t forgive him. You understand that, don’t you?” 

“He’s my twin. We share magic.  _ You  _ understand  _ that, _ don’t you, Mittens?”

Amity scowled as her face burned. She bared just the slightest bit of fang and flattened her ears back against her head. Emira’s turned down in kind. “Commander,” she growled. 

Emira scoffed. “Oh, come on, Amity.”

“Like you said, right?” Amity pressed. “When we’re talking about things like this, you call me Commander.” 

Emira frowned, startled by the sudden coldness, but turned her eyes town and sighed. “Yes, Commander. Understood.”

Amity softened. “Emira, I really don’t want to do this. I just don’t have a choice. We can’t approach this any differently just because he’s family. Actually, it’s because he’s family that makes it so important to treat him like any other coven squad leader. We can’t show weakness in this.”

Emira laughed, but the sound was cold and hollow. It left a heavy knot twisting in Amity’s gut. “There’s the Amity I remember. I guess all that ruthlessness really paid off in the end, huh?”

Amity smirked sadly. “Just not in the way Mother or Father ever hoped.” 

“Right.” Emira wrapped her arms around Amity’s neck. Amity returned the embrace with a sigh, just happy to be held again. “I really am glad you got out of there, Mittens. Maybe not in the way it happened, but at least you got out. You did better as a Clawthorne than you ever would have as a Blight.”

“You could come live with us, too. You don’t have to stay in the barracks all the time just because they destroyed the manor.”

“They? Didn’t you throw the first fireball?”

“That’s up for debate.” 

Emira chuckled. “Remember who taught you that spell. I still can’t believe you aimed for our parents’ bedroom window with that.”

“The house was empty! It was a message, that’s all. And you started throwing fireballs with me. You aimed for your own bedroom.”

“I needed to redecorate, anyway.”

The two shared a laugh and broke apart. Before the conversation could continue, Viney came running up to them. 

“Commander Amity, Commander Willow wants everyone in the map room for a briefing. She says it’s important.”

“I’m sure. Thanks, Viney. Will you get Jerbo and Barcus?”

“On my way.”

Amity nudged Emira. “Ready to see our favorite human again?”

Emira smirked. “More like your favorite human.”

Amity blushed. Emira laughed. They strode away through the base to the map room in the center of the cavern. 

Inside, Willow, Gus, and Luz stood around the glowing table with the magic-projected map on top of it. Luz grinned when they walked in. 

“Emira!”

“Luz! It’s so good to see you again!” They shared a quick hug, one that left Emira with a mildly shocked smile afterwards. “Oh, wow, you got way taller than me. Isn’t that surprising, Amity?”

“Ah ha, yeah, really.”

Luz just tilted her head and smiled obliviously. Amity allowed herself a crumb of reminiscence. Some things hadn’t changed, after all. 

****

Once both main squads were gathered, as well as a few trusted witches that Luz didn’t recognize, Willow smacked her hands down on the table. 

“First things first,” she said. “As you all have noticed, Luz is back. While that is amazing and everyone is extremely happy to see her again, there are going to be a few problems. The first is the fact that if Belos finds out about her, he’ll know the portal is working again and he will crush us personally trying to get it. We’ve all learned that he isn’t afraid to get his own gloves dirty anymore.”

A chorus of somber agreement went up from the witches. Luz looked around at her brow furrowed. What did that mean?

“So,” Willow went on, “because of that, we have to make sure that she stays hidden for now. We can’t risk anything until we have a better plan.”

“What?” Luz exclaimed. “Willow, you can’t keep me locked out of sight. I want to help you guys. I want to fight with you! I came back here because the Isles are the only place I’ve ever felt at home and everyone here is my family. You have to let me help protect that!”

“Not now,” Willow decided. “Once we have a plan, we’ll see about putting you into a squad. We can’t let him find out about you, especially with what we just found out. Which brings me to our second problem: Edric Blight.”

Amity and Emira stared at the floor, ears flat. Luz wanted to hug Amity, but she was trapped at the other side of the table. Instead, she did her best to convey it with her eyes. She thought it must have worked, but Amity managed the sad ghost of a smile. It was something, at least.

“Edric is Belos’ new commander and has him leading a patrol squad through Bonesborough. We saw him today when we were sneaking Luz through the Isles. He knows all of our faces, especially Emira and Amity’s, so he is going to be one of our biggest threats going forward. He knows too much about the Owl House, about us, and about the rebellion from what he heard in the past to be overlooked. From now on, if anyone sees him, do not engage. You retreat and call for reinforcements, and we’ll send out a squad of witches he doesn’t know. It’s going to be harder for him to make any guesses about our plans that way. Am I clear?”

“Yes, Commander,” everyone but Amity replied.

“Yes, Commander,” Luz mumbled under her breath. 

“Good. Everyone back to your stations. Gus, bring Luz back to the Owl House.”

“Wait, Willow,” Luz began. 

“Luz, that’s an order.”

“But I want to help!”

“You are helping by doing what we say for now. Go tell Eda everything I just said and see what she wants to do. Besides, you should catch up with her, anyway.”

“Amity, come on.”

“Willow’s right, Luz,” Amity said with a sharp, single nod. “I’ll be there later tonight and we’ll talk more, okay?”

“Okay…”

Gus tugged on her elbow and led her along, out of the base. She waved to everyone and got in a few more reunion hugs before they left. She followed him back through Bonesborough without incident, sneaking in most places and cloaked with intricate illusions where they couldn’t.

“Wow, you got a lot better with your illusions, huh, Gus?” she asked. 

“Mostly,” he replied. “I still have a long way to go.” 

Finally, they reached the Owl House. Gus helped Luz explain Willow’s briefing and what they saw of Edric. He stayed a little while longer to carry a message for Eda back to the base before scurrying off into the approaching twilight. Luz sat at the table with Eda and hid her head in her arms. 

The owl lady nudged her with her elbow. “What’s wrong, kid?”

“I want to fight in the rebellion. I want to help my friends but Willow and Amity won’t let me!”

“They’re looking after what’s best for our plans. Belos can’t know about you yet. The portal can be opened but I still can’t hide it. It’s just a free standing door in my closet. Look.”

Eda opened a door to reveal another door within, this one glowing around the edges with a large yellow eye set in the front of it. She gestured to it and slammed the closet door. Luz huffed and buried herself deeper in her arms.

“I already went up against Belos. I’m grown up now and a lot stronger. Let me do it again and I can help take him down.”

“We aren’t one-on-one with Belos right now, kid. That may help, but it’s not what’s best right now. Besides, you’re stronger physically, but your magic is out of practice. You’ve spent five years without it.”

Luz sighed, thinking of all the frustrated nights spent slapping glyph after glyph, only to have them remain pencil on paper. “I know. I’m just stuck, that’s all. I know Willow’s the commander now but I only ever knew her as my friend. Why can’t she just let me help? I’m not some magic artifact to keep in a cave with a booby-trapped boulder guarding it.”

“You’ll get your chance, Luz. It’s just going to take some time.”

“I know…”

“Good kid. Until then…” Eda slapped something down on the table in front of her. Luz lifted her head to see a deck of cards. “How about a game of Hexes Hold’em?”

“You told me you were going to quit that game!”

“I did! For a little while, anyway.” Eda grinned, shuffling the deck. “Now heads up. It’s time I taught you how to play.”

Luz grinned and accepted her hand. War loomed just outside the door, but for at least a few rounds, fighting could wait. 


	4. Glyphs and Gore

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luz gets more training.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not actually too much gore in this so don't be worried

Luz yelped and dodged three massive stone spires that sprung from the ground.

“ _ Spikes?! _ ” 

Eda cackled, doubling over and almost dropping her paper and pencil. Scrambling to her feet, Luz huffed and glared at her teacher. Out of the corner of her eye, she watched Amity sit on a stump and hide a laugh behind her hand. 

“You know, when I imagined your training, I thought it was going to be more smelling moss and eating snow,” Luz panted. 

“Oh please, I did enough of that trying to teach the new troublemaker over there.” She pointed to Amity, who rolled her eyes. “She’s the one who found that glyph.”

Luz frowned. Amity shrugged. 

“Eda had me licking rocks in a cave and I angered a rock demon. It broke a stalagmite and I found the glyph inside. It was growing like tree rings.” 

“And now Eda can attack me with spikes.”

“Hey, you wanted to show Willow that you know how to fight. You don’t have the same range of magic as Belos’ soldiers and you’re not ready for a staff yet, so you need to learn as many glyphs as you can and use them to fight inherent magic. You have to train outmatched because you’re going to be outmatched on the battlefield.” 

“Give me a staff! Then I  _ won’t  _ be outmatched and I won’t have to worry about running out of paper or getting skewered!”

“You’re not ready, Luz. If you’d been here…” Eda’s voice trailed off. Luz bit her lip and glared at her feet, avoiding looking at Amity. The reminder sent a pang through her heart. Eda sighed. “Maybe it would be different. You’d complete your education and have your staff, but right now, you have to catch up. This war changed things. It changed everything.” 

A hush fell over the yard. Luz nodded slowly and sighed.

“I know,” she murmured. “So let’s learn some new glyphs. How do I do the spikes?”

“What, you think you’re going to skip learning from the island? Geez, kid, how much did you forget? No, you’re going to learn the same way you used to. From little Miss Perfect, this time.”

Amity choked, face going red. “What?”

“I’m too old to be traipsing all over the Boiling Isles finding new glyphs with you. This is how it’s going to be: I’ll teach you to fight, Lily will teach you history and the inner workings of the Emperor’s coven, and Amity will train you in magic the same way I trained her.”

“Amity doesn’t use glyphs.”

“But we do.” She tapped beneath her one gray eye. “She learned glyphs with us after you left. That was one condition of learning from the strongest witch on the Boiling Isles.”

Luz looked to Amity. Amity shrugged one shoulder.

Eda clapped her hands together. “Speaking of which, that training starts today. Now. Amity, it’s up to you where you want to take her, but you’re going to be doing this every day that you have the time. Willow already agreed to start handling more of the rebellion.”

“You asked Willow for permission to let me train Luz?” Amity asked. 

“No, I  _ told  _ her to be aware that she would be taking on more leadership responsibilities. I don’t ask permission from anyone. You know that.” Eda crossed her arms. “Luz, she does want you to fight with them. She just wants you to be ready first.”

“We all do,” Amity chimed in. She stood next to Luz, staff in one hand and the other resting on Luz’s shoulder. “You’ll get there.” 

“You will. Now, you two get going. I am going to go take a nap.” 

Amity passed Luz her staff as Eda disappeared into the house. “I’ve never shown you Raja, have I?”

“Not yet.” 

“Take her.”

Luz took the staff and inspected the palisman sitting on top. It wasn’t simply a snarling tiger; two goat horns sprang from its head, and a pair of feathery wings was folded against its back. Luz rubbed a thumb over the tiger’s paw and turned to Amity.

“A winged tiger?” 

“She found me when I was looking for a tree. I started carving her, thinking I was going to do a falcon, and then my mind went blank and she turned up.” She smirked and patted the wooden animal’s head. “I already had the codename Tiger, so it was only fitting.”

“Where did you get that name, anyway? I understand Willow and Gus being Thorn and Clone, but how did you get Tiger before you found your palisman?”

Amity chuckled wistfully, flashing her fangs. “I was wearing face paint for camouflage on a stealth mission that sort of looked like stripes. One soldier was about to find me so I tackled him and let him go but scared him half to death. He started running around saying the rebellion had a tiger demon after that. It’s on my wanted posters. I’m the ‘Tiger Demon.’”

Luz guffawed, studying the palisman once again. “That’s awesome.” 

“Emira thought it was funny.” Amity’s smile disappeared. “Edric would have, I think. Before.” 

Luz touched Amity’s hand. “Hey, you don’t have to think about that right now.”

“I’m always thinking about it, Luz.”

“Well, now’s your chance to not think.” She swung around the staff and stopped inches from Amity’s face, oblivious to how the shorter girl blushed. “Take me to the cave where you found the spikes!”

Amity giggled and hopped on the staff, holding out a hand. “Come on.” 

Luz grinned from ear to ear. She sat behind Amity and wrapped her arms around her waist. The wooden wings on the palisman extended, just like Owlbert, and they launched into the air. Luz let out a loud, whooping laugh as they rose to the clouds, clinging to her old friend as the staff carried them over the Isles. 

She rested her chin on Amity’s shoulder. “I forgot how much I missed this!” 

“Not everything on the Isles is bad now,” Amity laughed. She covered Luz’s hands on her stomach with one of her own. “All the magic is still here, figurative and literal.” 

Luz leaned back. She took in the rising bones of the ancient fallen giant, the wispy yellow clouds and purple sky, the oddly colored trees. Between the great fossilized islands below her and the beautiful witch wrapped in her arms, a double edged blade of elation and longing struck her heart. She held Amity tighter. 

Amity stiffened and tried to ignore Luz’s head resting between her shoulder blades. 

“I missed this place, Amity,” she sighed. “The human world is my home, but… I think I always belonged here. With you.”

Amity gripped her staff tighter. “With me,” she mumbled under her breath.

“What?”

“I-I said probably!” 

Luz lifted her head. “You think so?”

Amity sighed. “Yeah, I do. Even though life’s gone to shit, I… I mean, we, we really, well… needed you. Here. W-We needed you here.”

Luz smiled and gave Amity a quick squeeze. “I wish I was. Do you really think Willow will let me fight once I get back into magic?”

“She will. Willow’s just worried right now. Worried about you, worried about the rebellion. I’m a commander but she’s the real leader. She’s always been.” 

“Because she tried to assassinate Belos?” 

“She almost succeeded. I’m just glad she got out of there before he hurt her worse than the scar on her face. But, we did learn one thing from it.” 

“What?”

“He bleeds.” 

Luz shuddered, then startled. “Oh! I forgot!” She reached under her shirt and retrieved a small triangular pendant, strung on a fraying cord. She handed the souvenir to Amity. “I’ve kept this since we rescued Eda. I want to give it to Willow now. Show her I’m ready and I’ve been ready.”

“What is it?”

“A piece of Belos’ mask. I hit him in the face with an ice spike.”

Amity chuckled. “Of course, you did.”

“Do you think Willow will reconsider when I show her this?”

“It depends, Luz. That was a long time ago and you are out of practice. It’s a new world.”

“I know. That’s all you guys keep telling me.”

Amity sighed but didn’t press further. Luz huffed, closing her eyes and leaning on Amity until they began their descent. 

They landed outside the mouth of a large cave. Thin stone spines hung from the ceiling and sprouted from the floor, gashed with deep claw marks. Luz shuddered at the thought of what could have made those. Amity nodded into the cave and sparked a jet of pink fire in her palm, leading the way into the depths. Luz followed, listening to their echoing footsteps and the click of Amity’s staff against the stone floor. 

They weaved between the rocks by the light of Amity’s fireball. After about a half hour of walking, Amity glanced over at Luz. A tiny smile graced her lips.

“Y’know,” she said, “when Eda first brought me down here and started training me with her methods, I thought she was insane. Well, more so than normal. Compared to Lilith’s teaching, it was a little, well…”

“Unorthodox?” Luz suggested. 

“That’s it. I didn’t think I would ever learn about magic by licking rocks and eating snow.”

“Yeah, learning from Eda was always a little odd. It teaches you a lot, though.”

“It taught you how to steal my wand and anger a Slitherbeast.”

Luz laughed in surprise. “You remember that?”

“Of course, I remember that. That’s when we made the Azura book club. I’d never forget that.”

Luz smiled fondly, thinking of Amity’s blushing face and the twins teasing her… 

Her heart sank. The twins. Edric. 

Titan, Edric. 

“Luz, are you listening?”

“Hm? Oh, sorry. Spaced out. What did you say?”

“I asked if you were ready to get the glyph.”

“Yeah! Okay, what do you want me to do? Fire magic? Karate kick the stalagmite in half to get it?”

She struck a pose as Amity tilted her head. “I have no idea what a karate is. No, Eda told me to train you  _ exactly  _ how she trained me. Which means that we are going to be using  _ that  _ to get the glyph.”

Amity drew another spell circle and sent a large light orb into the air. A ways down the tunnel, the light reflected off shiny brown scales. Luz sucked in a sharp breath, and Amity put a finger to her lips. A six legged creature faintly resembling a large dog lay sleeping between the spikes. Armored scales puffed and flattened as it breathed, and one large eye was situated in the center of its long face. Haphazard fangs poked out of its mouth. It kicked one leg in its sleep, which Luz found reminiscent of King and by extension very cute. 

Nudging her with her elbow, Amity smiled at Luz and slowly drew another circle as she spoke. “When I did this,” she whispered, “I accidentally stepped on it. I’m not doing that again, so we’re going to improvise.”

“Improvise how?”

She completed the circle. A firework blasted from her hand, whistling down the tunnel, and exploded on a far wall. Luz covered her ears as the explosion echoed. The rock demon jolted awake. Its single eye fixed on them.

“Uh, Amity? What now?”

The creature roared. 

“Run!” 

They took off back towards the mouth of the tunnel with the monster crashing after them. Luz screamed as Amity laughed, the creature snarling and snapping at their heels. Barely managing to outpace the rock demon, they hurdled over spikes and ducked lowhanging ceilings by the light of Amity’s fire spell. Luz stared at her old friend in terrified shock.

“This is how you learned the spell?!” she squawked. 

“More or less!” Amity replied.

“How did you not die!” 

“I almost did a few times! Training with Eda, remember?”

“What do we do now?”

“Try to get it to hit a spike!”

Luz glanced behind her at the demon. It glowered at her savagely. She pushed Amity’s shoulder.

“Go left!”

Whistling to the demon, Luz grabbed its attention as Amity split off. She weaved between spikes and watched the demon do the same. A towering stone loomed ahead of her.

“Luz, look out!”

She leapt to the top of the spine at the very last second. 

The demon jumped too late. 

It slammed head first into the rock with a thundering crack. Luz jumped aside as half of it came crashing to the floor, shattering into pieces. Amity grabbed her by the arm and yanked her back while the rock demon staggered to its feet. It shook its head, whimpering, and slunk back into the midnight depths of the cave. Luz let out a tired, relieved laugh as Amity dropped her arm. The witch stepped over to the broken spike and gestured to the now flat surface revealed. 

“Come get your glyph,” she said, smiling. 

Luz grinned and stepped up beside her. Amity was right; the glyph sat inside the stone like a ring in a tree. Fumbling for her paper, Luz hastily copied it down and slapped her new glyph on the ground. Amity yanked her back as the paper glowed. 

A thin, sharp spike shot up and smashed into the ceiling. Luz burst out cheering while Amity crossed her arms and smiled. 

“Spikes! I can do spikes now!” She jumped into Amity’s arms. Amity stiffened in shock, face going red. Luz pulled back, still holding Amity as she grinned down at her, Amity’s hands resting against her chest. “Thank you so much!” 

“As long as you keep them away from me,” Amity chuckled. 

Luz smiled sheepishly, remembering their early rivalry days. “Hey, you tried to squish me with an abomination.”

“Ugh, don’t remind me.”

They smiled, reminiscing, holding each other in gentle silence. Luz dragged a hand down Amity’s arm as they gazed into each other’s eyes. Her fingers bounced over a long, raised scar running down her bicep. She frowned and looked down at the strip of pale tissue. Amity looked away.

“What’s this from?”

“An old fight. It was just a flesh wound, it wasn’t anything serious.”

“It looks serious.”

“It wasn’t, really. I’m okay now, anyway, so it doesn’t matter.”

Luz bowed her head with a sigh. She pulled Amity closer and rested her chin on her shoulder. Amity disentangled her arms, wrapping them around Luz’s neck as tears pricked her eyes. Luz rubbed Amity’s back as she closed her eyes. 

“You have no idea how much I missed you,” the human mumbled. “I’m sorry I wasn’t there to help you guys. I’m sorry I couldn’t keep my promise to you.”

“What promise?”

“I’m your fearless champion, remember?”

“Luz, that was for Grom.”

“I meant it for more than Grom.”

Amity held her tighter. “You had to go back. You know you did.” 

“There’s nothing for me in the human world besides my mom. I should’ve stayed here.” 

“Well, you’re back now. That’s all I care about.”

Luz sighed and buried her face against Amity’s neck. Amity, hardly able to think with Luz’s warm breath on her skin, carded her shaking fingers through the human’s hair. She couldn’t remember how many times she had imagined this, imagined Luz in her arms, holding her tight amidst the disaster their world had become. She shuddered and let herself relax into Luz’s embrace. 

“I can hardly believe you’re here,” she admitted without thinking. “I missed you for fucking  _ years, _ Luz. I didn’t know if you were ever coming back, or if you were safe in the human world, I didn’t know anything.”

“I’m sorry. I should’ve been here with you, Amity.” 

“Don’t apologize.”

A huge roar split the quiet. The two jumped apart in time to see the rock demon barreling at them again. 

“Ah okay heartwarming discussions can wait until later!”

****

The next few weeks continued like that. Luz would follow Amity all over the Isles, retracing the years of training she missed from Eda. With each new glyph she added to her repertoire, she added new memories to make up for all the years she missed, most of them to do with a certain golden eyed witch. 

Amity, laughing beneath a forcefield that Luz summoned in the boiling rain.

Amity, covered in abomination goo after another failed attempt to find a glyph in it. 

Amity sitting in the sunlight. 

Amity grinning at her. 

It was amazing until Amity was called away to lead the rebellion. She would disappear for a day or two, sometimes longer, only to come back without an explanation and a myriad of new scars. She didn’t talk to Luz after; she didn’t talk to anyone, save a quick hushed briefing with Eda and Lilith before disappearing into her room. 

Luz left her alone when she got like that, after a few warning looks from Eda and a fumbling, patchy, halfhearted explanation from Lilith. But in the end, Luz got the message herself. Amity’s haunted, shadowed eyes were explanation enough. 

The outbursts were worse. Out of nowhere, any little inconvenience would have Amity shouting and cursing at the top of her lungs, eyes alight with pain and rage. Only Eda and King could calm her down when she got like that. Luz watched sadly as Amity curled up on her sleeping bag, hiding her face in trembling hands, with King draped over her back with sad eyes. 

Sighing and shutting the door quietly, Luz left them alone and went to sit between Eda and Lilith on the couch. Eda nudged her with her elbow and passed her a mug. Luz took a swig and almost spat it out. 

“Oh gross, what is that?” she coughed. 

“Apple blood.”

“How do you drink that?”

“It’s an acquired taste.”

“Everything you consume is an acquired taste,” Lilith chimed in, sipping a cup of tea. 

“Hey, remember when you cursed me?”

“Oh for the love of the Titan!” 

Luz managed a tired giggle as the sisters squabbled over her head. Her grin disappeared as soon as it arrived, and she slumped into the cushions. Eda noticed and laid a hand on her shoulder.

“Kid, what’s wrong?”

“Does this always happen now?” Luz asked. 

Eda sighed and leaned back, sipping her apple blood. Lilith cleared her throat. 

“Amity has seen too much for someone your age,” she began. “They all have. It has taken a toll on them, and, for Amity, at least, this is how it manifests. Just let her work through and she’ll be fine.”

“How long has she been doing this?”

“Since her first few battles. The big ones, anyway,” Eda answered. “They’ve all got their own way of coping. This is Amity’s.” 

Luz sighed and looked over her shoulder in the direction of their shared room. “I don’t get it. She seems so happy when we’re training and then out of nowhere, this.” 

“Huh, wonder,” Eda snorted. Lilith shot her a look, and the younger Clawthorne turned aside. Luz frowned at her feet. 

Lilith tapped Luz’s shoulder. “Why don’t you go talk to her?”

“Weren’t you two just saying to leave her alone?”

“We said that this is how she copes. She’s never been all that open to us, but she might say more to you.” 

“I’m going to talk to her.” 

“Luz,” Eda called, “don’t push.” 

“Okay.” 

She knocked lightly on the door to their room and stepped inside. Amity was curled into a ball on her bed with King laying on her. King jumped up to meet her, hopping into her arms and climbing onto her shoulder.

“She hasn’t said anything since she got home,” he whispered. “It keeps getting worse.”

Luz gently pushed him off. “Hey, Amity,” she said gently. 

“What?” Amity mumbled into her hands. 

“Do you want to talk?” 

“About what?”

“Anything.” Luz sat down on her own bed beside Amity. The witch uncovered her eyes, and Luz offered a smile. Amity sat up.

“Did Eda and Lilith send you up here?”

“Not necessarily. I wanted to check up on you.”

“I’m fine, Luz.”

“Really? You don’t seem fine.” 

“I am.” 

Luz sighed. “Okay.”

Amity pulled her knees to her chest and sighed. Luz sat back, idly drumming her fingers on her legs. Amity hid her face. 

“Three people,” she mumbled.

“What?”

“There were three casualties today. Not dead, but too hurt to fight. One has a broken leg, another was cut to shreds, and the third…” Amity shook her head as her voice trailed off. “There was so much blood, Luz. There’s always so much blood. I can’t stand to be in that fucking healer’s building just because it stinks so fucking badly. I can’t stop smelling blood…” 

Luz touched Amity’s arm. When she didn’t pull away, she wrapped her arms around her and flopped down onto the bed. Amity stiffened, ready to thrash her way out of Luz’s grip, but the gentle hand that found hers calmed her within a moment. She screwed her eyes shut and tried not to cry as Luz pressed her face against the back of her neck. 

“I’m sorry,” she whispered. She pressed her front against Amity’s back. “I wish I was there to help.”

Amity shook her head. “I never want you to see shit like this.”

“I’m sorry you have to.” She pressed closer. “Are you hurt?”

“No.”

“Good. Promise me you’ll be safe if I can’t be out there with you.”

“I don’t need you to protect me, Luz.” 

Amity’s scroll buzzed. She sat up out of Luz’s arms to look at the message and frowned. 

“What is it?” Luz asked. 

She stood. “Willow wants to see us.”

“Us?”

“Yes, both of us. Let’s go.” 


End file.
